Why Me?
by unholy-scribe
Summary: Levi decides to run away. What will happen when she's thrown into an adventure?
1. Chapter 1

"C'mon, you're so damn slow!", Ashley said in a very annoyed tone.

"Are all depressed people slow?", Makayla snapped.

"God, you're just pulling us behind. Why'd we have to get stuck with an emo?", Emma complained.

"Sorry…", was all I could say.

I tried to walk faster but the pain was almost unbearable. I pulled through though.

We were on a field trip to the Smithsonian, and split into groups. Of course, I got stuck with the 'popular' girls, whom antagonized me constantly. Why me? I don't know. Sure, I was depressed, but I don't consider myself an 'emo' per say.

"Hurry up! We wanna see the Captain America exhibit!", Ashley said, all of them swooning at the hero's name.

I rolled my eyes at their hopeless sighs. I didn't hate Captain or anything, in fact, I'm fascinated by him, but more of the history, not just his looks.

"I doubt any of you even know what his shield is made of.", I muttered.

"Um, duh, it's titanium." Emma said confidently.

"Actually, it's made of vibranium.", I corrected.

"Same thing, it won't matter when I'm his wife.", she cooed.

"'When you're his wife'? Excuse you, but that's gonna be me!", Makayla spouted angrily.

They began to fight over the thought, as if they even had a chance. I walked past their cat-fight and went on to the exhibit. I took a moment to appreciate the large mural on the entrance wall before continuing on.

The facts were fascinating with various statistics and facts on the serum's effect on Steve Rogers. Two screens showed his before height and weight compared to the after. I looked behind me and saw the girls had followed and were still fighting. I glanced beyond them and saw another wall of information. I walked over to it for a better look.

"James Buchanan Barnes.", I read aloud.

To the left of the block of words was a picture of the man himself. He was attractive to say the least. It's a shame he died, he must have been a good companion to the captain. I got lost in reading the description over and over to absorb its knowledge.

A slap to the back of my head, snapped me out of it.

"I said, wake up, dumbass.", Ashley yelled, annoyed. "We gotta go, c'mon."

"I have a name you know."

"Hmm, let me think. I think the only name you need is dumbass.", she said sarcastically.

"It's Levi.", I said with an irk in my voice.

"Oh yeah, a boy name for a girl. Oh well, no boy is gonna like you anyway."

"Well, there was one, but he killed himself didn't he?", Emma said heartlessly. "Wasn't it Daniel?"

"His name...is Danon.", I said through gritted teeth.

"Don't you mean...was?", Makayla taunted.

"If you say one more word about him, I'll slit your throat.", I said, gripping her jacket in my fist.

She reached up and pulled down the wristbands on my arm, exposing the self harmed skin.

"Just like you do to your wrists?", she provoked.

I let her go and quickly covered my arms and walked back to where our buses were. Anger and embarrassment mixed in my stomach, making me feel sick. I didn't say another word to anyone in school.

I try to cover them up, but somehow people still see them. I don't want their pity. I honestly wish they were invisible sometimes.

My walk home was no less than strenuous. The pain in my legs made it that way. I pulled out my key and opened the apartment door. Dad wasn't home yet. I made some food for myself and headed upstairs to my room. I clicked on my small tv and ate my dinner while doing some homework. My ears stayed hooked to the news to be caught up on current events.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have some updates from last week's crisis.", a reporter stated.

I spun in my chair, knowing they were talking about the event with HYDRA. The reporter began reading off the number of civilian casualties and updates on whereabouts.

"However, there has been no sight of the one called 'the Winter Soldier', many presume he is dead, or is it that the legend lives on? Back to you in the studio."

My anxious body went limp again in unsatisfaction. I stood up with a groan and changed into some shorts and a t-shirt. Ugly bruises painted my legs in various colors. The night before, my dad was so drunk and angry he threw me against the stairs, giving me the bruises. Sadly, he gets drunk quite a lot.

I glanced over to my clock and saw that it was 9:30 pm. He would probably be home soon. I grabbed my empty plate and went downstairs to put it away. I heard the front door swing open and slam closed.

"Levi!", I heard a slurred voice shout. "C'mere!"

I peeked from around the corner.

"Yes sir?", I said quietly.

"'Mere."

He was ragged looking and was a mess of a man. A half-drunk bottle was gripped in his hand. I slowly made my way towards him, sure to keep my distance.

"What're the bruises from?", he managed to say, obviously forgetting that he caused them. "Did ya get beat up at school? Ya gotta be stronger, Levi.", he lectured.

"It wasn't from school, Dad."

"How then?"

"You threw me on the stairs last night, that's what caused them.", I said, looking at my feet.

"Liar! I don' remember any such thing! I bet you tell lies about me like that all day! You damned child!", he yelled. "Maybe I need to teach you a lesson!"

With his words, he threw his bottle at my shoulder. I tried to avoid it but I only managed to dodge most of it. The glass shattered on the side of my right shoulder, embedding some of it in the gash it had made. Smaller shards of the glass scratched around various parts of my body. The leftover alcohol seeped into my wounds and burned the raw flesh.

I rushed as fast as I could to my room and locked the door. I weakly propped my chair against the knob, just in case. I then hurried to my bathroom to treat the gash. I ran water on it to wash the wine away. Using my tweezers, I pulled pieces of glass out of it. I grabbed some gaus and medical tape and closed the wound to the best of my abilities.

This was the last straw. I couldn't live like this anymore. I emptied my backpack, except for my notebook and pencils, and began to pack. Where was I going? I didn't care, anywhere but here. I gathered some basic clothes, filled my water bottle, phone, charger, and my necklace that Danon gave me. That was all I needed. I climbed out of my window and hopped onto the fire escape. I closed the window, seeing the pocket knife of the dresser. I let out a sigh and looked away. I don't need it anymore. Creeping down the metal stairs, I tried to figure out where to go. A roof of some sort. Staying on the ground for the night might not be too smart.

I raced down the alley beside our apartment complex and down a few blocks. I made sure that my dad. nor anyone, was following me. My eyes traced the buildings around me, trying to find access to a roof. I noticed a ladder bolted into a brick wall of what looked like another apartment building. Walking up to it, I readied myself and jumped onto it and climbed weakly up. Soon enough, I made it to the top and prepped my sleeping area. I slipped on my big hoodie for warmth and used my backpack as a makeshift pillow. I laid on my left side to avoid irritating my gash. It wasn't comfortable, but it'll make do. My exhausted body accepted the rough bed and fell asleep fairly easily. The back of my mind worried for tomorrow, but I ignored the stressful thought. It also worried that a stranger may try to attack me. Now, that one was not so easily silenced.


	2. Chapter 2

My mind was mostly asleep until I felt a slight pain in my arm, right about where the gash was located. It felt like I was being poked at. My eyes snapped open and I looked to my right. It was a man. He had stopped what he was doing to me and looked at me with slight shock. As my tired eyes came into focus, I recognized him. I couldn't believe it but, it was Steve Rogers. I wasn't phased by that though.

"What are you doing?", I nearly shouted.

I noticed a pair of medical tweezers in his hand.

"I-I'm sorry. I saw you on the roof by my window and your bandage was completely soaked in blood and I couldn't just leave you there. So, I brought you inside and went to change the bandage but I noticed small bits of glass so… Here we are.", he explained.

I looked around and noticed I was in an apartment, assumingly his.

"So.. you saw a wounded, complete stranger, and you took them into your home?", I questioned. "For all you know I could've robbed a bank or something!"

"I thought about that, but then I thought, 'I think if she causes any trouble I can defend myself.'", he said with a side smile. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Levi.", I said simply.

"Any last name?"

"Not so much anymore…", I said, thoughts of my father rushing back to me.

"Nice to meet you, Levi. I'm Steve Rogers."

"Yeah, I got that. I went to your exhibit yesterday."

He let out a small laugh and continued with removing shards from my shoulder. I simply stared at the back of the couch I was rested on. Millions of questions ran through my head, but due to my shyness, I kept quiet.

"That's an interesting necklace you have there.", he said, trying to break the ice.

"Yeah, thanks. It's the Celtic symbol for protection.", I said, looking at the miniature dagger like charm.

"Who gave it to you?"

"My best friend, sadly he committed suicide a few months back.", I said without thinking.

His actions stopped at my words. I looked over to him and he had a face with a mixture of sadness and surprise.

"I know what its like to lose a friend.", his words drenched in mixed feelings.

"I can imagine.", I said sympathetically.

I chose against the mention of Bucky's name, knowing it would give him heartache.

"On a different note, where are you headed?", he asked.

"I'm not sure, anywhere but back home, I suppose."

"Why so?"

I didn't answer, I just gave him a look and pointed to the gash he was picking at. He gave a nod of understanding.

"What about you? You just got done with the whole HYDRA thing, what are you gonna do next?"

"I'm gonna look for the winter soldier.", he said with a tone of grief.

"Oh fun. I heard that there were no sign of his whereabouts on the news. How do you expect to find him?"

"I have an idea of where he'll be."

"Look at the difference. You have a whole adventure in front of you and I don't have a clue of where to go.", I complained.

"Hmm, maybe you'll have an adventure too…", he said with a pondering look.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind, hold on this might sting a little.", he said holding up a small spray bottle to the wound.

I quickly tensed up as he sprayed it, feeling it burn into my flesh. I hissed slightly at the pain. The agony turned into a soothing feeling. I looked back and saw him beginning to wrap my arm in bandages.

"That's probably a smarter method than the small square of gaus.", I said, realizing my stupidity.

He let out a small snicker, gently lifting my arm to wrap under it to secure it.

"You should get some sleep, you must be tired.", he suggested.

I yawned and nodded before slipping my hoodie back on and snuggling into the soft couch. He laid a blanket over me and turned off the light to the room and left quietly.

* * *

I was awoken by the sudden sound of a toaster's 'ding'. I groaned slightly and rubbed my eyes open. The soreness in my arm woke my nerves instantly. Avoiding the use of the weak arm, I lifted myself to a sitting up position.

The memories of my rescuer returned to me. I looked around the room again, now in light. It was fairly clean and comfortable. Pretty normal for the most part.

"Morning, wounded soldier.", Steve said in a quiet tone, knowing I had just awoken.

"Not so sure about the 'soldier' part but definitely wounded.", I said with a half smile on my face.

He let out a small snicker and returned to what he was doing. My eyes wandered again at my upright position. I caught the sight of my backpack that I had packed the night before. My breath hitched for only a moment before I let out a slow sigh.

"This seems so fake.", I said out loud.

"How so?"

"I don't know, just that my dad would go that far, running away, being saved by you, etc."

"Your dad?", he asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, why?"

"Was he the one who did this to you?", he said, almost protectively.

I gave a small nod and an awkward smile. He returned it with a look of pity.

"Now you know why I'm running away."

"I suppose so. Would you like something to eat?", he offered, avoiding a tense subject.

"I've probably given you a hard time already, taking your food might be a bit far."

"It's not taking it if it's offered."

I raised my eyebrow at his technicalities, but shrugged and accepted the plate of food. It consisted of basic eggs, toast, and bacon.

"Eat up, we may have an interesting day ahead of us."

"How so?", I ask with a bit of food in my cheek.

"We'll find out.", he said with a small smile.

I just shrugged and went back to my food.

Steve insisted on changing my bandages again and I didn't oppose to it, besides the screaming pain. He also told me to stay at his apartment while he ran a few errands. I simply pulled out my phone out and listened to my music, while doodling in my notebook.

After a long 5 hours of waiting, Steve finally came home.

"Took ya long enough.", I complained.

"Sorry, I just had to get a couple friends.", he said with a small laugh at my remark.

He gestured to two people. One was a woman with red hair. The other was a dark skinned man, looking at me with a questionable stare.

"This is the girl who survived a blow to the shoulder? She's like 15!", he said with surprise.

"I'm actually 19, thank you.", I corrected.

"Levi, this is Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson.", Steve introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Levi.", Natasha said with a warm smile.

"I've gotta say, I'm impressed kid. How're you handling the pain?", Sam asked.

"Will power.", I said simply. "And pain meds I brought with me."

The three of them laughed at my small joke.

"So why did you bring them here?", I asked.

"Well, on my way to Sam's, I saw some missing person posters with your face on it. They looked homemade so I doubt many people will give it the time of day but, It made me think that we might need to hide you.", Steve explained.

"Or disguise you.", Natasha suggested.

"Another question, why are you all doing so much to help me?"

"Because, I'm bringing you with me.", Captain said.

"Bringing me where?"

"I want to take you with me to find the Winter Soldier."

My jaw dropped. Did he even know what he was saying? I'm just an average high schooler. I'm not a superhero. I'm no secret agent or anything like that.

"What?", was all that left my lips.

"I said the same thing.", Sam said.

"Wait wait wait, I'll just slow you down and get in the way!", I stuttered.

"I see great potential in you and I wanna see if I'm right. You're smart, and you seem to be good at improvising. That may come in handy. So will you be willing to let us disguise you?", he asked.

I had to think quickly. All of my excuses were pretty valid reasons, but I could be free from my dad. As well a I could possibly find the Winter Soldier! I would get a chance to work with Captain America. I shrugged with my good shoulder.

"How could I say no?", I said with a smile.

The three smiled bigger than they were before.

"We better get to work then.", Natasha said, clapping her hands together.

The four of us began brainstorming on what our plan of action was for disguising me, and what route we were taking to find the Winter Soldier. In all the bustling, I couldn't help but question them inviting me to join them. One question kept eating at me and reoccurred frequently.

"Why me?"


End file.
